Although April has been designated as the month for "Autism Awareness," it is important to raise awareness of the current autism epidemic and encourage parents to utilize the research reports compiled by Voices of Safety Director Don Meserlian so that parents can truly make informed decisions regarding putting their child at further risk for developing autism. The New Jersey Center for Outreach and Services for the Autism Community (COSAC) and Autism Speaks, in a joint proclamation for Autism Awareness Month, states that autism was once a "rare disorder affecting only one in 10,000 people" but presently results in "rates as high as one in 166 children."

Voices of Safety International (VOSI) congratulates Oradell Mayor Frederick T. LaMonica for signing a proclamation (The IO, Dec., 2005) June 27, 2006 urging "all employees and residents be made aware of, review and utilize the applicable VOSI autism "Research Reports" and "Standards" in order to become aware of the probable causes and prevention of the autism epidemic."

Research reports

The proclamation directs people to the VOSI website www.voicesofsafety.com "Public Health" section where two VOSI research Reports, based on a survey of more than 1,200 parents of autistic children, indicate:

1. Comparing children who had received none of the recommended vaccinations, children who received some of the recommended vaccinations and children who received all of the recommended vaccinations. The percentages of "normal children" was 98% (none), 88% (some) and 78% (all).

2. The percent contribution of mercury (Thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, contains 49.6% ethyl mercury), the triple vaccines DPT and MMR, and genetics were 18%, 62% and 20% respectively indicating that 80% of the parents believed that vaccinations caused their child’s autism.

The third VOSI research report studied the strength of the immune system by measuring the immunoglobulin E (IgE) in more than 1,600 samples of umbilical cord blood and noting that approximately 5 percent of the samples had hyper IgE, indicating a deficient immune system that warranted a delay in giving newborns the Hepatitis B vaccination at birth.

At-birth indicators

The cost of education and lifetime care for the current one in 166 children diagnosed with autism is a great burden for both the affected families and the taxpayers that support the ever-escalating costs of educating and caring for these children and adults. VOSI believes that measuring whether a child’s immune system is compromised before vaccination is the key to reversing the current autism epidemic and is asking residents to review the VOSI website in order to become aware of the probable causes and prevention of the autism epidemic.

Pass the torch

VOSI urges all mayors to follow the example set by Mayor LaMonica and sign the VOSI proclamation throughout the year in order to provide information to their citizens who are confused between what the parents of autistic children believe caused their child’s autism and the government’s position that vaccines are "safe and effective."